Simlandscape, a design and research support system for local planning, based on the scenario method and Parcel-Based GIS

Many authors mention gaps between planning and reality (Salet, 2000; Wheeler, 2002), modelling and reality (Parker, 2003), and between modelling and planning (Clark, 2003). The first gap refers to inadequate planning models and instruments and the second one to the yet inadequate simulation models. The last before mentioned gap refers to cultural and ontological differences between these fields. There seems to be a kind of hate-love relationship: there is a promise of synergy, but also a considerable communication problem. Inside planning there is an ongoing debate on what qualities are important, how to deal with stakeholders and how to implement plans. This debate stretches from the functionalistic modernism to identity oriented comprehensive new regionalism. Planning concepts are in essence instruments for governance and therefore developed for and focused on control and intervention of specific aspects of spatial development. The root of planning is about the creation of the future and not about future research. This focus is one of the reasons why so many regional plans fail to be implemented. Modelling is focused on system behaviour; it is focused on scientific future research. Through its scientific approach and still inapt models, modelling however generates results that many planners do not recognize as practical from their daily perspective. They mistrust the models and find their grid based maps primal. Planning and modelling are complementary and therefore in principle synergetic. Modelling could provide planning, its context and moneylender, with a powerful evaluation tool. For this to happen however planning has to be more open to landscape as an autonomous system and must develop consistent (scenario) approaches. Now, planning models are mostly not adequate for interactive scenario development and simulation. And modelling has, next to improving performace, to pay more attention to practical planning issues (spatial quality and practise data) and language (catographic products and scales). This way they could make a beautiful couple, provided they work on themselves. What is required is a kind of intermediate or integrative scenario and typology approach. Simlandscape is a methodological toolbox for land use planning. It includes research and development, evaluation and monitoring of panoramic land use scenarios. It has been specifically developed to do the before mentioned job. Simlandscape was the object of a recently finished R&D project. It is designed to accommodate future research and interactive scenario development (explorative interactive planning) on a local and regional scale. The toolbox is based on an ontological transformation model of how landscape changes. Key elements are that Simlandscape is parcel based and actor and object orientated. The innovative aspects of Simlandscape have to do with the effect of the key elements of the model – an integration of land property and –exploitation in a landscape layer model in combination with a cadastral data model - for the comprehensiveness of the tool with respect to research activities, plan phases, qualities and stakeholders.

From traditional to modern water management systems; reflection on the evolution of a ‘water ethic’ in semi-arid Morocco

The chapter focuses on water because of the crucial importance of that resource in a semiarid country and because the ways in which it has been managed throughout centuries illustrate the changes in socio-political structures in the society. The focus on water in a semi arid country is symbolic of how precious natural resources are in the development of economies and societies. Morocco provides a fascinating terrain to explore ingenuous traditional water management structures and processes both in urban and in rural environments

Resistance through transformation: a transitional approach for sustainable peri-urban environments

Urbanization is a global process, especially in developing countries. This process has changed urban landscape significantly particularly in the peri-urban zones of cities. These peri-urban areas are in transition from productive landscapes into urbanised fields. This research investigates the impacts of the urbanization process on agricultural production and local inhabitants’ livelihood in the peri-urban zones of two cities: the city of Hanoi, capital of Vietnam and the city of Melbourne, Australia. The research asks: Can the existing farming community and industry be transformed and integrated with the new urban developments in the peri-urban zone to resist their total displacement. The research aims at drawing out a “Transitional Approach” with strategies for architecture and urban planning. It closely examines contemporary agriculture, food production and consumption processes in relation to population growth and urban sprawl. It also locates itself in the current discourse of architecture and urban agriculture. The transitional approach is defined as an approach taking into account the process of changes over time spatially and programmatically, occurring in the peri-urban environment. By speculating possible future changes, it chooses to act or intervene before developments take place in order to maintain productive landscapes and their infrastructures. Furthermore, the proposed architectural and infrastructural interventions can create new models of public spaces for the peri-urban communities. These interventions, combined as a network, have a regional impact and create a more sustainable living environment for local inhabitant as well as explore alternative ways of thinking about the development of cities

Synergy between public space politics and mobility strategies

¿Hasta qué punto y en qué circunstancias movilidad, como aspecto funcional e inevitable del entorno humano, se puede convertir en un elemento afirmativo de espacio público dándole un nuevo significado y un valor añadido? Diálogo entre movilidad y espacio público se puede explicar mediante la comprensión de las estrategias de movilidad como partidario de la integración de diferentes lógicas urbanas, observando infraestructura como un elemento de configuración de espacio público y al cuestionar transporte como pivote del carácter e identidad de espacio público. El objetivo principal de esta discusión es la integración urbana y contextual de los sistemas de transporte vistos como confluencias de lógica urbana y lógica de transporte desarrolladas como una sola expresión. Armonizando esta paradoja es posible crear sinergias entre espacio público y transporte que ganan nuevas dimensiones.Up to which point and under which circumstances mobility, as a functional and an inevitable aspect of the human environment, can become an affirmative element of public space giving it a new significance and an additional value? Dialog between mobility and public space can be explained by understanding mobility strategies as a supporter of integration of different urban logics, by observing infrastructure as an element of public space configuration and by questioning transport as a pivot of public space character and identity. The main focus of this discussion is on mobility lines, specifically urban and contextual integration of transport systems seen as a crossroads between urban and transport logic, developed as a single expression. Harmonizing this paradox it is possible to create synergies between public space and mobility which gain new dimensions

Urban heritage conservation and rapid urbanization : insights from Surat, India

Currently, heritage is challenged in the Indian city of Surat due to diverse pressures,  including rapid urbanization, increasing housing demand, and socio‐cultural and climate changes.  Where rapid demographic growth of urban areas is happening, heritage is disappearing at an  alarming rate. Despite some efforts from the local government, urban cultural heritage is being  neglected and historic buildings keep being replaced by ordinary concrete buildings at a worryingly  rapid pace. Discussions of challenges and issues of Surat’s urban area is supported by a qualitative  dataset, including in‐depth semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with local policy makers,  planners, and heritage experts, triangulated by observation and a photo‐survey of two historic  areas. Findings from this study reveal a myriad of challenges such as: inadequacy of urban  conservation management policies and processes focused on heritage, absence of skills, training,  and resources amongst decision makers and persistent conflict and competition between heritage  conservation needs and developers’ interests. Furthermore, the values and significance of Surat’s  tangible and intangible heritage is not fully recognized by its citizens and heritage stakeholders. A  crucial opportunity exists for Surat to maximize the potential of heritage and reinforce urban  identity for its present and future generations. Surat’s context is representative of general trends  and conservation challenges and therefore recommendations developed in this study hold the  potential to offer interesting insights to the wider planners and conservationists’ international  community.  This  paper  recommends  thoughtful  integration  of  sustainable  heritage  urban  conservation into local urban development frameworks and the establishment of approaches that  recognize the plurality of heritage values

Timeless Modernity, Shifting Ideologies: a Vibrant Street in a Distorted Reality?

The focus of the paper is on the relation between a traditional and a modern concept of street design and regulation, which have been overlapping and upgrading/degrading for decades. The case of the Boulevard of Jurija Gagarina in New Belgrade will be used as an interesting example of a street constructed during the 1960s. The original modernist idea, reflecting the socio-economic background of the socialist epoch, is still recognizable in impressive prefabricated housing blocks, shaped according to the ideas of the Athens charter and the Modernist movement. The street, originally planed as an important transit artery with surrounding housing and green areas, started to transform its landscape during the period of transition (1990s). The position, available empty space and already provided infrastructure have directed a new tide of changes, attracting attention of city authorities, investors and entrepreneurs. The intensity of activities has increased, new office/commercial/housing units were constructed, but all these transformations have not been supported by the planning concepts which would improve the overall condition and quality of life in this area. Driven by the logic of economic efficiency and profit, the transformation of the Boulevard of Jurija Gagarina has also tackled the sensitive issues of spatial organization, social cohesion, redefined urban needs and questionable sustainability. Therefore, the paper will discuss recent changes and trends which opened some new questions of urban durability, modernity, efficiency and environmental awareness, simultaneously emphasizing a need for an integral approach, adjusted to a new dynamic and multiplying demands of/for the future

Enhancement of Urban Structure With the Aim of Reducing the Impacts of Climate Change on the Example of Belgrade

The enhancement of the existing urban structure aiming at reducing the impacts on climate change is a time consuming and complex task associated with planning, technology, building construction, economic mechanisms, education and modalities of the application through implementation. Belgrade is an exception model suitable for invetigating this issue because it has diverse urban tissue typology, from the city of 19th century through modern patterns to unplanned construction. On the other hand, its topography is very diverse, from plains to hills. Its microclimate is also diverse with relation to morphology and biological and hydrological characteristics. The analysis of urban tissue and physical structure, with a view of the current strategies and planning documentation, was a research staring point which was followed by the valorization of different possibilties of implementing the instruments and technologies on typical parts of urban tissue of Belgrade. The outcome is a set of urban and planning, as well as production rules which could serve as a staring criteria for future plans for the urban tissue redevelopment, but also for the development of new parts of the city.Editors: Miodrag Vujošević, Saša Miliji

Exploratory landscape metrics for agricultural sustainability

Socioeconomic growth and urban change have been an increasing concern for decision makers in recent decades. The monitoring, mapping, and analysis of agricultural land use change, especially in areas where urban change has been high, is crucial. The collision between traditional economic activities related to agriculture in tourist areas such as the Algarve and current demand for tourism infrastructures in urban regions is also leading to loss of economic activity. This article uses a combined geographical information system approach with CORINE land cover datasets to perform a Shannon’s diversity index quantifying changes in agricultural areas. The article then expands on the nature of the agricultural changes observed, and offers a multi-temporal assessment by means of landscape metrics in order to understand the shifting land use patterns for the Algarve in land use planning and regional economic equilibrium: a) forest regions become transformed into agricultural areas and agricultural areas become urban; b) areas that are initially agricultural become scattered residential regions created by economic investors; and c) agricultural land use changes have a cyclical nature in which—in the course of the economic recession—such dynamic effects brought about a decrease in tourism and focus on traditional sectors

Exploring the relationship of parks planning and economic land development in Toronto: A case study of the Rail Deck Park

This paper explores the relationship between private economic development and public parkland planning through analysis of the proposed Rail Deck Park (RDP) in Toronto. Led by the city, the ambitious mega park project is planned to be built over one of the busiest rail corridors in the country. The RDP has been considered as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to relieve the lack of park space in the downtown core. However, historical analysis of the site reveals the lands were reserved initially as a major public park, referred as the Walks and Gardens (W&G), but was abandoned by city officials to support the development of the existing railroad. This paper explores and compares the dominant parkland policies, tools and actors in both periods to understand the influence and impact of private economic interests in the success and failure of public parkland development. Despite being over 200 years apart, comparison of the two periods reveals parallel themes and patterns emerge in both cases related to property relations, civic boosterism, real estate speculation, and city image making. Contrary to planning theories which emphasize a dichotomy between private economic development and public parkland planning, these two forces can be compatible in sometimes contradictory means based on property interests and profit motives. The paper concludes that these competing private interests present a major challenge in the development of public parkland in cities